Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded the incarceration of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, alleging them of not safeguarding federal immigration officers.
"Chicago's Mayor belongs behind bars for failing to secure Immigration agents!" Trump wrote on his platform Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
Both officials are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks come alongside the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, notwithstanding vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks yet another attempt where Trump attempted to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying anywhere."
Pritzker also replied via online channels, declaring: "I will not back down. Now Trump is demanding arrests of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the path to full-blown authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, National Guard units from the Lone Star State had reached the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation roughly 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the administration advances with its hardline urban crime policy and mass deportation efforts.
Trump has labeled Chicago a "crime-ridden hellhole", even though police data indicate notable reductions in most criminal activities, such as homicides.
On Wednesday, 200 Texas National Guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with another 300 state military forces readying for deployment, per sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would avoid law enforcement duties but would secure ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel wearing uniforms with state guard patches were observed at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Emergency Disaster Services" dropped off portable toilets and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Additional fencing was installed around the perimeter.
Aviation authorities ordered flight restrictions over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
Federal authorities has escalated immigration enforcement in the city in the past month, sparking protests, especially near an processing facility in a Chicago suburb.
Earlier this week, state and city filed a lawsuit against the federal government, attempting to halt the military dispatch, urging a court to stop what they describe as "Trump's long-declared 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
A court hearing on their case is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an directive on Monday banning ICE officers and others from using city-owned property as operation bases for deportation efforts.
Pritzker has accused the president of using military forces as "political props" and "pawns".
During a press briefing on Tuesday, he said that the president is attempting to "justify and make acceptable the presence of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic Posse Comitatus Act restricts the military's role in enforcing domestic laws. However, the president has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which permits a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in regions that are failing to suppress an insurrection or are resisting national authority.
After beginning his second term, the president has dispatched or mentioned deploying troops to over ten cities, such as Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and West Coast locations like Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, claiming that the armed forces is necessary to combat crime and defend immigration agents.
Data indicates that most violent crime across the US has decreased in the past few years. In Chicago, for instance, homicides were down 31% to under three hundred through late summer, according to law enforcement reports.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the deployment of troops without an foreign danger.
